Up There, Kazari!

Australian Sports Day was a fantastic event held at Komazawa Olympic Park yesterday, and I got to go and enjoy some of the proceedings that were a decorative display, (or should I say kazari?), of some of Down Under’s favorite pastimes.

The day itself was a ripper, starting with explanations, demonstrations and games of cricket, moving on to games of footy and then ending with a netball exhibition, with sales of Aussie foods, wear and fare such as meat pies and banana bread and cuppas from Club Australia‘s Tad Watanabe and the Australia Cafe van.

Needing to deal with duties in the garden and home and able to enjoy lunch with Mrs. Kangaeroo and our pet dinosaur, I was late starting out, but still got to see the last half of the final game of footy.

It was an entertaining match and the skill level was fantastic!

The fast-paced game was good to watch despite the swirling wind making judgment in the air a difficult proposition that challenged even the most skillful players.

A memorial to the Komazawa Golf Club, which had originally been planned as the main stadium for the cancelled 1940 Tokyo Olympics (Aussie plant <bush rosemary> planted beside it, too!)

I stayed for some of the netball, but it was getting cold and dark and I needed to get home as I was riding the Death Machine, on which my average speed tends to drop by about 5kmh compared to a roadbike.

Being close by, however, I took advantage to drop by Punk Doily and say g’day to Kif for the first time in a while.

Along the way, I found the marker commemorating the old Komazawa Gol Club, where the park is now located, but which is notable for having been slated as the main stadium for the 1940 Tokyo Olympic Games, which ended up being cancelled.

Kif has Punk Doily looking fantastic, having added a rooftop terrace and plenty of Aussie plants decorating the diner. His food was tremendous! I partook of a scrumptious lamb sausage roll and salted caramel brioche donut. It was top notch stuff, and wonderful to see how Kif’s business is doing so well. He has worked like a dog to get it this far and I look forward to seeing Punk Doily become even bigger.

Coming home was a really pleasant ride despite being into a fierce headwind. I was glad to have ridden a recumbent as they are less susceptible to headwinds than upright bikes, but it was still a hard slog.

At times I felt like I was going to get blown off the bike, so put safety first and was delighted to make it home unscathed.

Riding along through the streets I was enjoying the fact that I would be getting some decent footage, which was also giving me good vibes.

Less pleasing, however, was making it home to discover that I hadn’t set my video camera to upside-down mode and that the battery had run out almost immediately after leaving Punk Doily.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • Totoro In My Neighborhood

    I had no idea until yesterday, but for years I have been living quite close to Totoro, a Shinto kami made globally famous through Hayao Miyazaki‘s utterly delightful 1988 animated movie, My Neighbor Totoro. OK, so it’s not the real forest-protecting spirit as depicted by STUDIO GHIBLI, but the topiary sculpture is wonderful. It’s a work that I’m pretty sure is unauthorized by Suzaki, a gardening company in the Tokyo suburb of Kokubunji. A cycling buddy posted photos of Totoro on social media yesterday, and with only a couple of pre-dawn hours available for anything today due to home requirements, I looked up the location and decided to make a…

  • | |

    How Did Japanese Shellfish Help Aussie Harvesters Realize The World Was Their Oyster?

    日本のカキはオーストラリアのカキ産業をどう変えたのか？ Aussie oysters are famous around the world. Few people realise that one of the industry’s biggest turning points began in Japan. A tiny shellfish—and decades of scientific cooperation—helped reshape Australian aquaculture. オーストラリア産のカキは世界的に高く評価されています。しかし、その発展の大きな転機の一つが日本にあったことは、あまり知られていません。一つの小さな貝と、長年にわたる日豪の科学協力がオーストラリアの養殖業を大きく変えたのです。 An Industry Faces New Challenges 転機を迎えたオーストラリアのカキ産業 For generations, Australia’s oyster industry relied on the native Sydney rock oyster. It remains one of the country’s finest seafoods. But during the 20th century, growers faced disease, slow growth and changing environmental conditions. They began searching for new ideas. 転機を迎えたオーストラリアのカキ産業 長年にわたり、オーストラリアのカキ産業はシドニーロックオイスターを中心に発展してきました。 現在も高級食材として親しまれています。 しかし20世紀になると、病気や成長速度、環境の変化など、新たな課題に直面しました。 生産者たちは新しい可能性を探し始めます。 Looking to Japan 日本に学ぶ Japan had centuries of experience cultivating oysters. Its farmers had developed efficient methods for collecting oyster spat, raising young oysters and managing…

  • |

    Japan’s ‘Japow’ Transforms Australia Into A Winter Sports Force

    For most of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano and Cortina, Australia occupied a prominent position on the medal tally. In fact, that land famous for its searing heat, blistering sunshine and water games outranked countries like Canada, where snow sports are a part of daily life from birth, and recent Winter Olympic Games powerhouses like China and Korea. And Japan, itself one of the top Winter Olympics performers, has much to do with Australia’s success. Australia has taken part in every Olympic Winter Games since 1936. But it didn’t win a medal until 1994, and a woman didn’t pick up one until 1998. That year, the Winter Games…

  • |

    Oz Act Pretty Bleak Turns Summer Supersonic

    There’s nothing ironic about the fact that one of Japan’s top music festivals is being brightened by Pretty Bleak. 今年25周年を迎える「SUMMER SONIC 2026」には、オーストラリア勢も登場します。 Aug. 14-Aug. 20, 2026 THIS WEEKEND! SUMMER SONIC 2026: AUSTRALIA GOES SONIC サマーソニック2026：オーストラリア勢が登場！ Summer Sonic turns 25 this year, and the three-day festival has a distinctly Australian flavour. Two Australian acts are on the bill: Melbourne indie-rockers PRETTY BLEAK perform in Tokyo on Saturday, 15 August, while Sydney-based R&B singer BOY SODA takes the stage in Tokyo on Sunday, 16 August. BOY SODA is also scheduled for the Osaka festival on Friday, 14 August. PRETTY BLEAK are part of the Saturday lineup at the Sonic Stage, alongside Steve…

  • Rain, Rain, Go Away

    April in Tokyo can get wet, but it can also be warm and dry. Unfortunately, today it’s the former. On the upside that means more photo opportunities and a slower pace to enjoy riding. Make no mistake, though, April is when spring really starts to, well, blossom in the Japanese capital. Not far from Kangaeroo’s home is the delightful Yakushiike Park. The park has some delightful archetypically Japanese scenes, with the crooked bridge over a pond, terraced rice paddies and beautifully manicured gardens. Flowers and new greenery sprout everywhere and days are longer and generally warmer. Then there’s the wind. Cherry blossoms in Japan are world-renowned for their beauty, but…

  • Fly Me To The Moon

    Buggered if I know what to write for this entry. Got to head out to a farm near New Tokyo International Airport, better known as Narita Airport, and was fortunate enough to see a number of planes passing by the moon on a glorious winter afternoon. Not really a plane fancier, but felt the images were quite nice with the moon as a backdrop. The ANA plane in the photo had a special livery that made it look like a turtle. A glorious sunset topped off the day.